Consumer understandings and attitudes towards local food: an exploration of australian consumers\u27 perspectives

Concerns exist about the sustainability of current globalised food systems, and have led to increased interest in alternative food systems. It has been argued that local food will reduce environmental impacts, provide consumer benefits of connection and health, and support local economies

Measuring Food Insecurity in Wollongong

This study aim to establish a standard assessment measure of the extend of food insecurity in Australian communities

Combining realism with rigour: evaluation of a national kitchen garden program in Australian primary schools

Overview - Background on Program - Overview of evaluation framework & methods - Findings: Outcomes - Findings: Program learning - Health Promoting Schools - Question

Weighing the risks: individualisation, trust and risk in three lead contaminated communites in Australia

This thesis explores residents’ accounts of their experience of dealing with living in an environment that has been designated as potentially hazardous because of lead contamination, and which potentially placed them, but especially their children, in the category ‘at risk’. This qualitative study investigated how people come to decisions about health risks in the environment and how they evaluate these within a community and family context. The study was carried out in three Australian communities identified as contaminated by lead, Port Pirie, Broken Hill and Port Kembla, that have varying degrees of lead contamination and different levels of programs dealing with lead abatement, providing the opportunity for a comparative analysis of responses to risk in relation to exposure and abatement. Lead in the environment is potentially an emotive issue, since its effects are most significant in a vulnerable group, preschool aged children. There also has been significant scientific and policy debate about what constitutes a hazardous level of lead in blood, and there has been a constant downward revision of ‘safe’ blood lead levels. Lead contamination therefore provides an excellent case study to explore community responses to expert risk assessment. The study used the ‘risk society’ macro-theory of Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens, especially their development of the concepts of risk, reflexivity, individualization and trust, as a framework for understanding residents’ responses at the micro-level in the community. Findings showed that risk has become normalised and globalised, so that risk from lead is just one risk among many that participants in the study saw as routine in their everyday lives. The study also showed the importance of the individualisation of many aspects of contemporary life. Participants, as parents, saw themselves as individually responsible for life planning, for managing their children’s paths through life until they were old enough to take on the role, and health planning was one part of this, a project in which all members of society were engaged. This individualisation of all aspects of life and health, resulted in a redefinition of environmental risk as a lifestyle risk that moved responsibility for its management away from government and health agencies onto the individual. One part of the normalisation and globalisation of risk was related to the dependence on abstract expert systems, such as the health system or agencies involved in environmental monitoring. The thesis shows the importance of trust in relation to risk, in the relationship between the institutions responsible for promoting the health of the population, and especially the importance of the mechanisms by which trust is established and maintained. Finally, it is argued that risk was not so much acceptable as weighed in the balance, so that residents balanced individualised management of risk against living in the community, social relations, employment and other aspects of social life

Weighing the risks: individualisation, trust and risk in three lead contaminated communites in Australia

This thesis explores residents’ accounts of their experience of dealing with living in an environment that has been designated as potentially hazardous because of lead contamination, and which potentially placed them, but especially their children, in the category ‘at risk’. This qualitative study investigated how people come to decisions about health risks in the environment and how they evaluate these within a community and family context. The study was carried out in three Australian communities identified as contaminated by lead, Port Pirie, Broken Hill and Port Kembla, that have varying degrees of lead contamination and different levels of programs dealing with lead abatement, providing the opportunity for a comparative analysis of responses to risk in relation to exposure and abatement. Lead in the environment is potentially an emotive issue, since its effects are most significant in a vulnerable group, preschool aged children. There also has been significant scientific and policy debate about what constitutes a hazardous level of lead in blood, and there has been a constant downward revision of ‘safe’ blood lead levels. Lead contamination therefore provides an excellent case study to explore community responses to expert risk assessment. The study used the ‘risk society’ macro-theory of Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens, especially their development of the concepts of risk, reflexivity, individualization and trust, as a framework for understanding residents’ responses at the micro-level in the community. Findings showed that risk has become normalised and globalised, so that risk from lead is just one risk among many that participants in the study saw as routine in their everyday lives. The study also showed the importance of the individualisation of many aspects of contemporary life. Participants, as parents, saw themselves as individually responsible for life planning, for managing their children’s paths through life until they were old enough to take on the role, and health planning was one part of this, a project in which all members of society were engaged. This individualisation of all aspects of life and health, resulted in a redefinition of environmental risk as a lifestyle risk that moved responsibility for its management away from government and health agencies onto the individual. One part of the normalisation and globalisation of risk was related to the dependence on abstract expert systems, such as the health system or agencies involved in environmental monitoring. The thesis shows the importance of trust in relation to risk, in the relationship between the institutions responsible for promoting the health of the population, and especially the importance of the mechanisms by which trust is established and maintained. Finally, it is argued that risk was not so much acceptable as weighed in the balance, so that residents balanced individualised management of risk against living in the community, social relations, employment and other aspects of social life

Breastfeeding amongst mothers in a non-English speaking community in Wollongong

The study investigated infant feeding practices among mothers of a predominantiy Macedonian-speaking community in Wollongong. An initial survey of Early Childhood Health Centre records revealed that initial breastfeeding rates were high but declined rapidly during the first 3 months postpartum. The study aimed to investigate reasons for the decline to 3 months and to determine whether there were differences in infant feeding patterns between the Macedonian-speaking and the non- Macedonian speaking mothers. Fifty five mothers were interviewed during their first 3 months postpartum about their infant feeding practices, attitudes and experiences. Macedonian-speaking Ethnic Health Workers and Interpreters, and Early Childhood Health Sisters were also interviewed. The rapid decline in breastfeeding during the initial 3 months postpartum mirrored changes in mothers\u27 attitudes to breastfeeding and bottiefeeding. Initial positive attitudes about breastfeeding reversed during the initial 3 months postpartum. The Health Belief Model is used as a framework to develop a model of the process of decision-making about infant feeding that has implications for promoting breastfeeding. The perception of the health benefits of breastfeeding over bottiefeeding was not strong enough to outweigh the directly experienced problems. Stepwise Regression analyses distinguished 4 variables (mother\u27s educational level, attitudes to convenience and duration of breastfeeding, and the introduction of complementary bottiefeeding) that identified those mothers most at risk of weaning their infants early, and could be used by Early Childhood Centre personnel to direct resources where they are most needed to promote breastfeeding

Health-related claims on food labels in Australia: understanding environmental health officers\u27 roles and implications for policy

Objective Health and related claims on food labels can support consumer education initiatives that encourage purchase of healthier foods. A new food Standard on Nutrition, Health and Related Claims became law in January 2013. Implementation will need careful monitoring and enforcement to ensure that claims are truthful and have meaning. The current study explored factors that may impact on environmental health officers\u27 food labelling policy enforcement practices. Design The study used a mixed-methods approach, using two previously validated quantitative questionnaire instruments that provided measures of the level of control that the officers exercised over their work, as well as qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Setting Local government; Australia. Subjects Thirty-seven officers in three Australian states participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews, as well as completing the quantitative questionnaires. Senior and junior officers, including field officers, participated in the study. Results The officers reported a high level of autonomy and control of their work, but also a heavy workload, dominated by concerns for public health and food safety, with limited time for monitoring food labels. Compliance of labels with proposed health claims regulations was not considered a priority. Lipsky\u27s theory of street-level bureaucracy was used to enhance understanding of officers\u27 work practices. Conclusions Competing priorities affect environmental health officers\u27 monitoring and enforcement of regulations. Understanding officers\u27 work practices and their perceptions of enforcement is important to increase effectiveness of policy implementation and hence its capacity to augment education initiatives to optimize health benefits

A qualitative study of the Australian midwives\u27 approaches to Listeria education as a food-related risk during pregnancy

Objective: to explore midwives’ perceptions of food-related risks and their approaches to Listeria education during pregnancy. Design: an exploratory design within a qualitative framework. Setting: one private and two public hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. Participants: 10 midwives providing antenatal care in the selected hospitals. Findings: midwives had a range of approaches, from active to passive, to Listeria education. The main education provided was focused only on some of the high Listeria-risk foods with little education on safe food-handling practices. Midwives’ perception of food-related risks was a function of their limited scientific knowledge and their reliance on their experiential knowledge and their common sense. System constraints such as temporal pressure, limited availability of educational materials and low adherence to Listeria recommendations within the health system were also identified to influence midwives’ practice. Key Conclusions: professional practice guidelines regarding food safety and Listeria education are needed, together with relevant professional training and review of hospital practices in relation to this important health issue